Person Centred Counselling

Counselling can teach you the skills you need to learn in order to overcome everyday difficulties in living, helping you establish more successful coping style. It is a process that guides you in identifying your own responsibility for life values and choices. It offers emotional support when the going gets really rough, and a steady hand, helping to steer you through the stormy weather when you need it most.

I am a Person Centred Counsellor and offer a a humanistic approach that deals with the ways in which individuals perceive themselves consciously rather than how I as a counsellor can interpret your unconscious thoughts or ideas.The person-centred approach ultimately sees human beings as having an innate tendency to develop towards their full potential. However, this ability can become blocked or distorted by our life experiences – particularly those that affect our sense of value.

In this approach I wish to understand your experience from your point of view. I positively value you as a person while aiming to be open and genuine as another human being. I wish to help you feel accepted and better understand your own feelings – essentially helping you to reconnect with your inner values and sense of self-worth. This reconnection with their your inner resources enables you to find your own way to move forward.

A variety of factors can affect an individual’s ability to flourish, including low self-esteem, a lack of self-reliance and very little openness to new experiences. The person-centred approach recognises that an individual’s social environment and personal relationships can greatly impact these, so therapy is offered in a neutral and comfortable setting where a client can feel at ease, authentic and open to learning about themselves. In this way, the approach offers individuals the opportunity to counteract the damaging effects of past relationships and experiences. This can help them foster change and achieve their full potential.

Other related changes that can be cultivated from this therapy include:

Closer agreement between an individual’s idealised and actual selves.

Better self-understanding and awareness.

Decreased negative emotions such as defensiveness, insecurity and guilt.

Greater ability to trust oneself.

Healthier relationships.

Improvement in self-expression.

Overall a healthy sense of change.

Who can benefit?

Generally, person-centred counselling can help individuals of all ages with a range of personal issues. Many people find Person Centred Counselling appealing type of therapy because it allows them to keep control over the content and pace of sessions, and they do not need to worry that their therapist will be evaluating or judging them in any way. The non-directive style of person-centred counselling is thought to be of more benefit to individuals who have a strong urge to explore themselves and their feelings, and for those who want to address specific psychological habits or patterns of thinking.
The approach has been found particularly useful in helping individuals to overcome specific problems such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders, eating disorders and alcohol addictions. These issues can have significant impact on self-esteem, self-reliance and self-awareness, but person-centred therapy can help individuals to reconnect with their inner self in order to transcend any limitations.
Counselling can support us in some very specific areas, for example:
• bereavement or loss
• anger
• marriage break-up
• family turmoil
• abuse/ domestic violence
• help in dealing with stress – conflict at work, problems at home, pressures of everyday living
• feelings of loneliness or isolation
• depression
• anxiety and panic attacks
• relationship difficulties
• childhood trauma
• confusion or forgetfulness
• low self-esteem
• sexual identity and stress
• addictions
• victims of sexual abuse